~ Paleo Friendly and Loving It!

Category Archives: reviews

Do you know the three words that strike fear into my heart? That’s right “Mom, I’m hungry”. You would think it would be something like “Mom, I’m hurt” or “Where’s my homework?” But no, I have hollow legged boys who are always hungry. Does it matter that they just ate, exactly 12 minutes ago? Does it matter that there is literally no food left in the fridge for their school lunches tomorrow? Is there are a reason I ask such pointless questions?? Sigh.

So, because I am constantly feeding the monsters, I need some cheats. I need a few packaged, easy to prepare, low brain power items for those mornings I simply cannot cope. You know, Mondays. And possibly Tuesdays, depending on how bad Monday was.

My new friend in GF world has become Gluten Free Bisquick. I bought it on sale, thank-you Sobey’s, and thought it might save me from a meltdown someday. Yes my friends, MY meltdown. The monsters will eat whatever you put in front of them, the problem is getting it to them fast enough!! Today was that day, I needed carbs, sweet and fast.

GF Bisquick is made with rice flour, sugar, potato starch, xanthan gum but MAY contain soy. So, if you are soy free and sensitive, maybe skip this one. Also, the package suggests keeping it in the fridge once opened. I made the waffle recipe right on the back of the box and it was glorious. Perfection. In fact, I think I might be in love.

And waited for them to be done. The first four, I cooked all the way through, so I could enjoy them immediately. The next four I under baked just a tad so they finish cooking in the toaster later. These babies freeze beautifully!

A little coconut oil on top and some maple syrup and I was in GF Waffle heaven. Love, love these waffles. My only complaint? The package is pretty small, so probably 2 batches and it’s done. But, it’s a small price to pay for convenience and bliss. Happy Monday!

I have dived head first into the Wahls Protocol. I finished the audio book and am armed with all of Dr. Wahls enthusiasm and knowledge. I made extensive notes and will probably have to listen to it again, just to pick up even more of the hidden gems. I’ve been eating my 9 cups of vegetables and fruits for most of a full week now, gluten free and almost dairy free. (Turns out there is casein in my coffeemate, sigh)

Here are my initial impressions:
1. Watch the Tedx Talk you tube video here, even if you haven’t read the book. It’s 18 minutes and really fired me up to commit to the protocol.

2. It is a “Protocol” not a “Diet”. Remind yourself this at every opportunity. We cheat on diets. We follow medical protocols. This is as important as taking your medication.

3. Do NOT stop taking your medication. Oops, learned that one the hard way. In my defense, the drugs don’t seem to be “doing anything” so I quit taking the Plaquenil. Two days later, there is Dr. Wahls on my audiobook reminding us to continue all medication until your doctor says otherwise. Ask me how awful my skin was. How it burned and turned blotchy, red and hot. Yes, it was brutal. I am back on my drugs, it seems they actually ARE “doing something”.

4. Because it is a protocol, there is more to it than just food. Stress management is extremely important too. Detoxification is also vital.

Initial Results:
Spoiled probably, because I quit taking my medication. Having said that, I did go through a serious sugar craving day. I also had a “false start”. Meaning, I went GFCF during the week but went off the protocol for the weekend. I did not suffer too much from this and it was kind of a last au revoir to gluten and dairy. (So glad we did the Pizza Hut pizza, not going to lie, that is a weakness for me) The sugar day was after I finally gave up the gluten and dairy. I have not experienced serious cravings or die-off which I did expect but maybe it is because I am so committed that I can ignore them.

My skin is not better. My energy is not better. My mouth sores have completely cleared up. (Which was the last straw for me to finally give in to the protocol. I couldn’t brush my teeth with mint toothpaste) I am not sleeping better.

I have lost 3 pounds (!) and I have discovered that I love beets and asparagus. I am not so excited about blackberries, but they are ok.

This week:
Focus on following the 9 cups of vegetables and fruits. No tomatoes or nightshades. No peanuts or other nuts. (I have a pre-existing suspicion of intolerance to these) Increase water consumption to at least 6 cups per day. Meat, 4-6 oz daily. Personal massage with coconut oil daily, as described in the book. (It is so relaxing) Sleep at least 7 hours daily, more if possible. I’m also taking detailed notes, which I won’t post, unless I start to see some patterns, positive or negative appear.

Upcoming steps:

Order Dulse flakes, more organic coconut oil, Avalon Organics shampoo (no sodium laurel sulfates) and Nordic Naturals Omega 3 from iherb.com. I have a terribly itchy scalp and my pharmacist suggested an SLS free shampoo. Why not try it? The dulse flakes and omegas are suggested as part of the protocol.

(Just a little plug, if you’ve never ordered from iherb.com, use coupon code MEN348 for a small discount. It is my go-to source for natural, organic and hard to find supplements, foods and personal care items. We live so far from Natural Health stores that it is a convenient, low cost way to access these items. Orders under 4 pounds ship Canada Post (I’ve never yet paid customs/duties), for $4.00)

I personally have sadly, reverted to the Standard American Diet (SAD), (and while yes, this IS a Canadian blog, I think SCD is already taken as an acronymn). The SAD in my case involves a decent amount of fresh food, meats, a slowly increasing amount of processed junk and plenty of coffee. I’d tell you I eat pretty healthfully, but I did have a Timmies plus 2 pop tarts on Friday, so who am I kidding. To be fair, I felt awful all weekend. Itchy, tired, sore. It is clearly time to take back some control.

My first book was Meals That Heal Inflammation by Julie Daniluk, RHN. I bought it at Chapters. You can too! The premise of the book is that you spend 8 weeks on an elimination diet and then add back, one at a time, potential allergens. GF/CF/SF/Corn free/Additive Free/Beef & Pork free among other things. Full of interesting recipes, none of which I have tried.

My second book was “The Wahls Protocol” by Dr. Terry Wahls. Dr. Wahls has Multiple Scelerosis (an auto-immune disease) and experimented on herself to find a way of reversing much of the debilitating effects of MS. She advocates a Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free (because she is allergic to eggs, and the protocol is actually in clinical trials, it has to be exactly what she did) diet in step one. In step 2, she moves to a Paleo diet and in step three, what she calls a Paleo Plus diet. (I’m still reading, so forgive the lack of detail)

The Wahls Protocol initial step is to clear out all the gluten and casein from your diet and incorporate 9 cups of vegetables and fruits into your diet daily. NINE CUPS. People, that is a lot of rabbit food. It needs to be 3 cups leafy greens, 3 cups brightly coloured, 3 cups sulpher rich. GF/CF fare is ok in this step. She even talks about the opioid and leaky gut syndrome. Seems like all that “crazy stuff” I did with my son 5 years ago isn’t so crazy after all?

My third book (and documentary) was Forks Over Knives. Interesting. They advocate a plant based diet. No meat. No dairy. No fish. If it had a face or a mother, don’t eat it. But, gluten is allowed. The authors have good research that plant based diets prevent heart problems, diabetes and cancer.

So, what to do. What to do? I haven’t been this overwhelmed since I first started GFCF so long ago.

I needed a plan. Could I go GF/CF again? All the books are in agreement about casein. It is apparently evil. To be avoided. To be banished from my kitchen. (But oh how do I love thee mozzarella cheese) Could I really eat NINE cups of vegetables and fruit a day?

Do I really want to ever feel as bad as I do now ever again? Do I want to get worse?

The plan: follow the 8 week elimination diet as advocated by Meals That Heal Inflammation, supported by the Wahls Protocol. Meaning, avoid all the allergy suspect foods while still going GF/CF and eating the 9 !! cups of vegetables & fruits.

Today’s Menu:

Breakfast: Cornstarch pancakes, 1 cup of cherries, mangos, strawberries and pineapple (it was either corn or gluten, take your pick)

Lunch: Carrot soup, salad with Kale, Cabbage, broccoli and other greens, plus some cranberries and a GF poppyseed dressing.

Supper: Apricot Chicken with rice and vegetables, more salad

Snack: fruit and organic strawberry tea

So far, at lunch, I feel satisfied. I’m still concerned my nose is going to start twitching before the week is out…

I just finished making and eating the most amazing Gluten Free Cinnamon buns. I’d love to take credit for the recipe, but that would be stealing and very wrong. So, instead, I’d like to introduce you to another Canadian gluten free blogger who should be crowned for sainthood, just for discovering and sharing this most amazing cinnamon bun.

People, these are incredible fresh. They are awesome reheated from frozen. They are not hard to make and they taste as good or better than their wheaty counterpart. How do I know this? Well, I cheated. I ate a “real” cinnamon bun after making several dozen for my whiny family. And, my thumb got rashy and my tummy hurt. So, there you go, learn from my stupidity, these GF cinnamon buns are the real thing.

Please, allow me to introduce you to The Baking Beauties and her Cinnamon Bun recipe. You could thank me, but first, swallow the last bite and wash your hands. Keyboards and cinnamon sugar just don’t mix…

These are so amazing – no artifical flavours or colours, gluten free, corn free,organic, Kosher Parve, made with fruit extracts and they taste awesome.

I ordered these for my boys because I wanted something gluten free but also without all the crap that normal lollipops (candy in general) seem to have. Since then, I’ve re-ordered for my office. I feel really good about sharing these with other people’s children (with permission, of course) because they are a high quality treat. We have lots of kids through here & I’ve never had a complaint about the flavour yet. With the “old” kind, we’d find the kids would take about 2 licks and hand it back.

I get mine from www.iherb.com in a bag of 50 for $6.00. They have packages of assorted flavours, which I recommend until you know which one is your favorite. Me, I’m partial to Mango Tango and Pomegranate Pucker (don’t you just love the names) but truly, any flavour will do.

For the more “grown-up” kid in your office, Yummy Earth also has individually wrapped candy drops. So, if you’re a little too old (professional) to have a sucker stick in your mouth, these drops are just as good. They even look nice in a candy dish on your desk.

As always, first time customers can save $5.00 on their first order by using coupon code MEN348 at check0ut. (Which would make the first bag $1.00 – just in case I haven’t convinced you to try it yet!)

As with all Kinnikinnick products, this mix is a high quality, great tasting product. It is truly my favorite GFCF mix.

The mix has directions to allow you to make as few buns as you want – it is 3 parts mix to 2 parts liquid (water, milk or milk alternative). 3 cups to 2 cups makes 6-8 buns in muffin tins. For us, that’s enough for a week without anything going moldy or stale.

The buns are light, tasty and have a good mouth feel. They take only 3 minutes to mix and 20 minutes to bake, so there’s no excuse for having no bread alternative for your GF kiddo.

Nathan just loves these plain, with peanut butter or as a sandwich. He ate 6 the first time I made them! Poor me, I was SURE I made 8, but when I counted them into the bread bag, there was only 6 left….Hmmmm…

Later on, I noticed him into the bread bag. I asked him what he thought of the buns and his response:

Don’t live in Manitoba? Well….all the top three stores will ship it to you. (Or you could move here. It’s true what they say about us. Our winters are brutal but the opportunities, cost of living and friendly people completely make up for it!)

I personally love LaraBars. They are filling. They taste wonderful. They are 100% gluten free. And, just in case you are the only person who hasn’t heard of them, here’s a link to the LaraBars site.

Move over Tim. There’s a gluten free donut that is better than yours. I’m not sure why I am telling you all this because the more people who know this secret, the less there is for me…….

But, in the interest of sharing my “finds”, here goes.

We love our donuts and have even tried making a GF one at home. Total bust. Worse than awful. So I reluctantly bought a package of Kinnikinnick Vanilla Dipped Donuts. They were “packaged”. In donut world, that means gross. But I was desperate for a fix and Kinnikinnick hadn’t let me down yet.

The instructions say to heat the donut in the microwave for 10-15 seconds (because they are frozen & because that makes them yummy soft). So, I did. The glaze melted just a little, the donut was warm, think fresh from the oven temperature.

I hesitated, braced for a bad taste and took a bite.

I won’t lie. The heavens opened up & angels sang Hallelujah. It really was that good. Warm, soft, flavourful, no hint of gluten-free grit. In fact, I’d challenge you to know it was a gluten free item.

So, I bought the Maple Dipped ones, the cinnamon ones and the chocolate ones. Each bite better than the last. They come 6 to a package, last forever in the chest freezer and thaw well for the lunchbox.

Overall, the kids like them in this order: Chocolate glazed, Cinnamon, Vanilla glazed.

I prefer the Maple glazed. (I am Canadian after all!) And, I’d guess the kids would too, if only I’d let them have one.

Do try them immediately. But don’t tell anyone how good they are. If word gets out about this stuff…….well, don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Who doesn’t love spaghetti? My guys ask for it at least once a week. We eat a lot of corn & quinoa macaroni noodles and brown rice noodles, but they really wanted the “long skinny noodles”.

I heard great things about Tinkyada so as soon as I found it, I had to try it. Well, everything you’ve heard is true. It is good. No, it is amazing! No, it isn’t wheat pasta, there is a different texture & taste, but different doesn’t have to mean Bad.

The pasta does take longer to cook – about 15 minutes, so that is the only downside. It will take a fair amount of “over cooking” but does tend to clump together. This is easily solved by tossing a little olive oil on the pasta, is breaks apart easily.

You can also cook the pasta by tossing it in boiling water for 2 minutes, turn off the heat & let stand for 20. This works really well too, especially if you are afraid of boiling your pot dry!

We generally pair our pasta with meat sauce, heavy on the ground beef. It’s a great way to get extra beef in the children. They often eat 2 plates each!

I recommend this pasta 100% We paid 3.99 for 454 g, so not toooo much more than a wheat pasta, so that’s pretty nice too. We eat almost a full package for our family of 4, just in case you are wondering.

I keep hearing, whispers, about this thing called a “Lara Bar”. It is supposed to be one of the all-time greatest treats in the GFCF diet. So, when I finally found some, I had to give it a try. (should have bought more than 1 flavour, I think, but that’s another story)

That’s it. No artificials. States right on the label: No added sugar, Gluten free, dairy free, soy free, vegan, Kosher. So, clearly, unless you have a nut allergy/intollerance, this should be a “safe” product.

It is very heavy and a substantial snack. At 210 calories & 13 grams of fat (only 2g are saturated, no trans fats), it might almost be a meal-replacement bar. You definately aren’t going to eat two of them in a sitting anyways!

The flavour – well, it is peanutty. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it replaces my PB Cookies though. It has small chips of peanuts through the bar which provides some texture. It is a chewy bar & the peanut flecks add a little more crunch. I really like it but I don’t think it is one my kids will like. The peanut bits would annoy them and it isn’t “sweet” so wouldn’t replace a cookie as nicely.

For myself, this Lara Bar is a good snack. I paid around $2.00 for it, so it is pricey compared to say a Chocolate Bar (which wouldn’t be GFCF, ok…) but as an occasional treat, is not too much. I think I would stock up on these for loooooong car trips as an alternative to the junk food at the convenience store but not for kids lunch boxes. My vote is: buy it for yourself, don’t waste it on the kids!